Icculus Ports Prey Game Client To Linux

[Svartalf]

Yes there will always be a certain degree of error. You would have to measure it within a reasonable timeframe (ie a month). Your best results would be to have a game that was digitally distributed where the downloads could be counted if the client was released while the game was in the hype. Another way one could measure is with a game such as WoW where clients being used can be easily tracked.

iD has DRM on Doom3 and Quake4. If it worked like you think it did we'd have an official version already reserved of Rage. We don't- so either it doesn't show accurate numbers in their opinions, or we're fooling ourselves thinking there's a real market (which I seriously doubt we're fooling ourselves, deanjo...).

[xav1r]

iD has DRM on Doom3 and Quake4. If it worked like you think it did we'd have an official version already reserved of Rage. We don't- so either it doesn't show accurate numbers in their opinions, or we're fooling ourselves thinking there's a real market (which I seriously doubt we're fooling ourselves, deanjo...).

what kind of drm was in doom3 and quake4? Safedisc? Thats not exactly DRM, or at least a useful DRM. :P

[deanjo]

iD has DRM on Doom3 and Quake4. If it worked like you think it did we'd have an official version already reserved of Rage. We don't- so either it doesn't show accurate numbers in their opinions, or we're fooling ourselves thinking there's a real market (which I seriously doubt we're fooling ourselves, deanjo...).

I seriously think your over estimating the linux market. iD treats linux as "hobby project" and doesn't see it as a money maker at all. Remember, linux's percieved desktop market share are just as easily if not more skewed as towards it's market penetration.

There is certainly no plans for a commercially supported linux version of Rage, but there will very likely be a linux executable made available. It isn't running at the moment, but we have had it compiled in the past. Running on additional platforms usually provides some code quality advantages, and it really only takes one interested programmer to make it happen.

The PC version is still OpenGL, but it is possible that could change before release. The actual API code is not very large, and the vertex / fragment code can be easily translated between cg/hlsl/glsl as necessary. I am going to at least consider OpenGL 3.0 as a target, if Nvidia, ATI, and Intel all have decent support. There really won't be any performance difference between GL 2.0 / GL 3.0 / D3D, so the api decision will be based on secondary factors, of which inertia is one.

John Carmack

[deanjo]

what kind of drm was in doom3 and quake4? Safedisc? Thats not exactly DRM, or at least a useful DRM. :P

Safedisc is not a form of DRM.Safedisc is copyprotection.

DRM requires product authentication by an authority upon use of the product. Doom3 / Quake 4 called their servers up to check if the key was valid everytime is was started up. If it wasn't it would say "Sorry invalid serial" and not run.

[sgRevan]

I'm greatly surprised by this port. I've heard a bit about this game when it came out but I've never known either its story nor its original gameplay, but I'm pleased : I discovered a very good game (thinking about it, it's 3D Realms after all!).

I'm just a bit disapointed that, like every SDL game I've played so far, the keys to switch weapon don't work on an azerty layout. I always have to use the mousewheel.

But it won't prevent me to buy the game ^^

[Svartalf]

I seriously think your over estimating the linux market. iD treats linux as "hobby project" and doesn't see it as a money maker at all. Remember, linux's percieved desktop market share are just as easily if not more skewed as towards it's market penetration.

Consider your current remarks, deanjo...

If what you say is true, then why even bother with anything of what you suggest at all?

[deanjo]

Consider your current remarks, deanjo...

If what you say is true, then why even bother with anything of what you suggest at all?

In an attempt to get some sort of meaningful numbers instead of wild, shaky, speculative fanboy assumptions.

[Svartalf]

In an attempt to get some sort of meaningful numbers instead of wild, shaky, speculative fanboy assumptions.

Heh... You've been given some meaningful numbers that they know of and I know of. You appear to not like what I've told you or they've told you. That's okay. I don't like it any better than you.

Novell gives a meaningful estimate at about 30 million users worldwide for Linux back about 3 or so years ago.

That number, by the by, has went up a bit since then with netbooks, etc. being sold to the tune of somewhere between 1-4 million units with Linux on them and the units pretty much not being re-purposed. This doesn't even get into the installs that aren't counted.

So, the number is likely to be between 30 and 50 million worldwide.

Now, that's total numbers and doesn't lead to gamer demographic sales.

IF you go by the sales that we've mustered in the past and recent times, an SKU manages something on the order 200-1000 units in sales, with the typical number being around the 200-500 unit range. Oddlabs has reported that roughly 10% of their paying customers have been Linux users (raises hand...nice game...fun one...) and that they intend on continuing to provide Linux versions. All in all, though, we're seeing only a peak sales figure of about 2000 units for Linux-only installs.

Now, there's numerous reasons this has been the case, and we've hashed them out time and time again in these forums- but it remains that the sales are what they are.

Now, if you want to be gathering the numbers that I think you're actually looking for, you might want to suggest to a vendor that they find some way of distinguishing Cedga/CrossOver/WINE versus Windows installations of their stuff. You might even actually see that happen, if you can get the bean counters, PHB's, etc. to twig onto the fact that WINE != a good experience for many titles and it'd be better to make a native one, from the consumer point of view and from a development standpoint because cross-platform ferrets out crap that'd end up being annoying mystery transients in the game that turn customer off.

[deanjo]

Novell gives a meaningful estimate at about 30 million users worldwide for Linux back about 3 or so years ago.

I remember that number and if I recall correctly it didn't distinguish desktop/server/embedded from that estimate.

[Svartalf]

I remember that number and if I recall correctly it didn't distinguish desktop/server/embedded from that estimate.

It's not that the numbers are off, deanjo, it's that people keep doing counterproductive things for themselves in the context of trying to get native gaming going. As for gaming, anything other than server numbers will count towards your magic goal.

You've also been given good numbers as well.

1) A fairly accurate appraisal of what happened to Codeweavers back on the 28th...over 500,000 downloads, most of which happen to be individual desktop licenses...

2) Over a million Linux eeePC's, most of which haven't been repurposed with XP.

3) There's similar stories with the other netbooks with only one player ditching it completely because they can't get a good Linux distribution onto their netbook in a timely manner.

4) And this doesn't even get into other handheld devices like the N8x0 or the Pandora where while we have good guesses (~1 million on the Nokia devices... At least 4000 in the case of the Pandora on pre-order...) we don't have solid figures because the vendor doesn't hand them out (Heh...they're still doing N8x0's and sellin' them- Nokia doesn't bother with a next gen (Which is in progress, purportedly using the OMAP3 SoC...) unless it sold well enough for them to have bothered past the first test model (N770...)) or the vendor doesn't KNOW how it's going to play out (Pandora...could just be 4000, but it's shaping up to be more than that in the long-run...).

So, while you don't have your gaming stats like you think you're going to get on this, you're unlikey to be getting the figures you want to hear.

I doubt you're going to GET them because you'd need a AAA title that was interested in an official Linux version and was in a position to sell easily a half million or more units for all platforms and was interested in telling you those numbers they got.